Gennady Charodeyev
Karimova's assistants, according to the Swiss newspaper Le Temps , have managed to visit their client in prison for the first time since June 2019. “We were able to see Gulnara only in the presence of an Uzbek lawyer and translator. She had several bruises on her arms”, - they told reporters.
Young people were surprised at the appearance of the prisoner, who a few years ago was a rich and stylish lady who traveled around the world to secular parties, adorned with millions of dollars in jewelry.
As it turned out, in July this year, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court considered the objection of 49-year-old Gulnara Karimova to the confiscation of 550 million francs stored in Switzerland, partly owned by the Takilant company in Gibraltar, of which she is the beneficiary. The company, which went into hibernation for several years, was revived by Karimova's lawyers, which allowed them to appeal against this confiscation, as a result of which Gulnara's beloved assistant was convicted in Tashkent.
The investigation reveals that Gulnara Karimova controls 30 accounts in 7 Swiss banks and 8 safes, all at Lombard Odier.
Investigators working for the Swiss prosecutor's office established that the organized group acted solely to maintain the luxurious lifestyle of Gulnara Karimova. The funds came from commissions in excess of $ 800 million paid by telecommunications companies wishing to establish themselves in Uzbekistan. Among them are the Russian Mobile Telesystems, the Dutch Vimpelcom and the Swedish Teliasonera. It is known that each of them abroad was fined several hundred million for corruption, says Le Temps.
At the same time, money from bank safes was used to buy jewelry, fancy toilets and luxury cars. Such shopping became possible, in particular, thanks to funds provided by the holding company Zeromax, registered in Zug, which at that time owned an entire empire in Uzbekistan.
In the gas and textile industry, Zeroma was the country's main employer, accounting for 10% of GDP. It went bankrupt in 2010 following court decisions in Tashkent amid political turmoil in Uzbekistan.
What is known about the "difficult" life path of Gulnara Islamovna Karimova?
According to Pravda Vostoka, the “Uzbek princess” was born on July 8, 1972 in Fergana in the family of the future president of the country. After high school, she entered the Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. In 1994 she received a bachelor's degree from the Department of International Economics of the Faculty of Philosophy and Economics of the Tashkent State University, in 1996 she graduated from the magistracy of the Institute of Economics at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. In 2000, Gulnara was awarded a master of arts degree from Harvard University, in 2006 - a bachelor's degree in telecommunications from the Tashkent University of Information Technologies. In 2001, the girl became a doctor of political sciences at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent.
At the suggestion of her father, Gulnara worked as an adviser to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, held the post of adviser to the permanent mission of Uzbekistan at the UN headquarters, and worked at the Uzbek embassy in Moscow.
In 2008, the parent appointed the permanent representative of Uzbekistan to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva.
Gulnara Karimova is known as a fashion designer and singer. She once released a music album in English under the pseudonym Googoosha.
But she was considered as the heiress of her father as the head of the country, but in early October 2013, reports began to appear indicating that the princess fell out of favor with the Uzbek leader. By presidential decree, TV channels and radio stations controlled by Karimova were closed, and a number of people from her inner circle left the country. They were threatened with the death penalty.
Some publications named the conflict between the president's daughter and the head of the National Security Service as a likely reason for the split in the Karimov family. In particular, it was reported that in September 2013, the Uzbek security forces provided the president with videos in which Gulnara Akbarali's cousin Abdullayev, with whom she has close relations, allegedly stated that Karimova could transfer power to him.
Karimova's name was mentioned in 2012 in connection with a large-scale investigation in Switzerland and Sweden into allegations of corruption and money laundering, when several of her associates came under suspicion of illegal activities.
In March 2014, it became known that the Swiss prosecutor's office was conducting a criminal investigation, the defendant of which is Karimova: she was then suspected of money laundering in Swiss banks.
In August 2015, it was reported that the United States requested a number of countries to seize assets associated with Karimova. In April 2016, the US Department of Justice openly named Gulnara Karimova as a suspect in taking bribes and money laundering.
On July 28, 2017, Karimova was charged under several articles of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, and she was taken into custody as a preventive measure. She was accused of fraud, violation of customs legislation, concealment of foreign currency, violation of the rules of trade or provision of services, forgery and legalization of proceeds from crime.
According to the investigation, legalized assets of an organized criminal group in the amount of 1.394 billion dollars, 63.5 million euros, 27.1 million pounds and 18.5 million Swiss francs were previously installed on the territory of 12 foreign countries. The criminal group owns real estate in France, Hong Kong, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, Latvia, Ireland, UAE, Malta and Spain.
In Russia, Uzbek investigators found assets worth six million dollars, a mansion on Rublevka and eight apartments in Moscow, as well as a hotel complex, a residential building and a land plot in Yalta worth more than two million dollars.